The Proposal
by poisonousgodivas
Summary: AU. Rangiku is Toushiro's personal assistant and she agrees to help Toushiro avoid deportation by pretending to marry him. Hilarity and awkwardness ensures. Based on the movie The Proposal. "Now, ask me nicely to marry you."
1. Chapter 1

The Proposal

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach OR The Proposal boohoo.

xx

Once upon a time, there lived a man named Hitsugaya Toushiro. He was 31 years old, and he was good looking to say the least. He mother was a Japanese and his father a Canadian. He was 6'00" precisely and had a muscular and well-built body. He goes to the gym, mind you. He has emerald green eyes that you could stare in forever. But what he was not, was a man of patience. He was pushy and cold. So naturally, when Hitsugaya Toushiro – the executive director of Deller Carpets, walked into the company dressed in a black Armani suit, all the employees in the room hastily quit whatever the hell they were doing, and quickly busied themselves. Some pretended to talk to a potential client on the phone, while others typed furiously on their computer. Who wanted to get reprimanded on a Monday morning by the boss from hell, right?  
>Meanwhile, Matsumoto Rangiku, Hitsugaya's personal assistant, was busy applying sparkly pink nail polish. Matsumoto Rangiku was a woman every man could click with. She was one of the boys despite her habit to flirt anytime, anywhere. She had strawberry blonde hair that reached just above her elbows. Her physique was model-like, but not as thin. Besides all that, she also had assets of a great size – which she wasn't afraid to show (although not when she was working of course). Sadly for Rangiku, although blessed with the looks and body, she landed herself a crappy job.<br>_  
>"<em>One more to go…" She bit her lip and said to herself. Too concentrated in finishing her nails, Rangiku didn't hear her boss arrive and thus, jumped up in surprise when her boss banged his briefcase on her table.

Rangiku got up from her chair all flustered and embarrassed. Her bottle of uncapped glittery polish lay forgotten. "Shit! Oh, um... Good morning, sir."

Hitsugaya managed a somewhat forceful smile for his assistant and said, "Morning. Show me my agenda for today, will you? Oh, and I'd need you here for the weekend. Is that a problem?"

"Ah... No. Not at all. It's just that one of my girlfriends is having her wedding this weekend, and I was supposed to be her bridesmaid, and so I was gonna go and uh... Yeah, it's fine. I'll uh, just cancel. It's no biggie." Rangiku replied grudgingly.

"Hm. Great, then I'll see you here on Saturday. Oh, and get me my coffee." Toushiro added before slamming his office door shut.

Rangiku groaned in misery, _screw my job._

Inside Toushiro's office

Two men were already inside his office when Toushiro arrived. One of them was his supervisor, Jacob, and the other Hitsugaya didn't know. Toushiro dropped his briefcase into one of the cream sofa and sat himself down, smoothing his pants.

"Gentlemen, good morning. Have some chamomile tea." Hitsugaya motioned to the filled cups of tea and handed them over. Business, business.

"So, what brings you to my office today? This isn't about my second raise is it?" He added jokingly.

Both men exchanged looks and after a moment, the unknown man looked up, "Actually, no. Mr. Toushiro, your application has been denied. You've been deported."

Toushiro rose from the sofa almost immediately. "Deported?" He asked, not believing his ears. "What do you mean? It's not like I'm an immigrant or something. I'm from Canada!" He swiped his hand to the window for emphasis.

True, Toushiro's heritage was Japanese, but he was born and raised in Canada.

"Apparently, you didn't fill out some papers too." He paused. "If you're deported, it means you can't work for an American company." The other man said slowly. "If there was any way at all for us to make it work…"

Toushiro stared in disbelief, "So you guys are saying I have no choice but to leave the country?" Toushiro scoffed and stared at Jacob questioningly. "Aren't you going to say something, Jake?"

Jacob shifted his feet and said, "Listen, Toushiro, we are desperate for you to stay. Like Michael has said, if there were any way at all for us to make you stay, we'd be doing it already."

"Well then, I'll reapply." Toushiro said simply.

"Yeah, you can reapply, but you'll have to at least leave the country for a year."

"There is no way-" Toushiro clasped his hands together and breathed deeply. This couldn't be true. There must be some way out of this. Some loophole. He was just about to finish his sentence when a knock on his glass door interrupted him. All three men in the room turned their heads. Rangiku popped her head through the door crack, surprised to see more than one man inside the room.

"What?" Toushiro asked impatiently.

"Pardon the interruption, ah... Here's your decaf, Mr. Toushiro." Matsumoto said. To the gentlemen, she nodded professionally, "Gentlemen."

Toushiro squinted his eyes and the wheels in his brain whirled in motion, "I understand the predicament, gentlemen, but there's something that you should know." He pulled a confused Rangiku towards him.

"We... uh, We're getting married." He said adding a laugh. Toushiro patted a stumbling Rangiku for good measure.

"Um, excuse me. Wait. Who's getting married? Who, uh...?" Rangiku bit her lip and glanced nervously from her boss to the two men in front of her.

"You and I. You and I are getting married!" Hitsugaya answered in a way too preppy tone. "Yes." He nodded to the men.

"We… are. We're getting married." Rangiku said, going along with whatever the hell her boss is planning and forcing a smile.

"Can't find a love like ours." Hitsugaya hugged Rangiku awkwardly and smiled warmly. Rangiku was thrown aback by how much _more _handsome her boss became when he smiled, despite the awkward hug and situation she was in.

"Isn't that your assistant?" Michael asked suspiciously.

"Ah… yeah, but um, the truth is, Rangiku and I are two people who weren't supposed to fall in love... but we did. You know how it is gentlemen, all those late nights at the office, weekends arranging carpet deals…" Hitsugaya hugged Rangiku tighter, "Yeah. Ahem, so are we done here?"

The two gentlemen exchanged glances once again. Jacob spoke, "Make it all legal, and we'll put all this behind us." Jacob waved his hands around and smiled.

"Wait, legal? That means we need to go to the immigration office?" Toushiro asked.

"Yeah, so you guys can work everything out. I'll be leaving now. Thank you for your time." Jacob rose from his seat and left the room along with Michael, leaving Matsumoto Rangiku frozen in spot, wondering what the hell just happened.

_**To be Continued..**_

Author's note: There you go! I'm sorry the first chapter was so short; I promise it'll get better AND longer further into the story. I gotta say though, I hate how I've portrayed Toushiro and Rangiku so one dimensional ugh. That aside, I love Bleach and The Proposal and thought it'll be fun to mash them both up. For those who don't know The Proposal, it's a movie starred by Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, and it's awesomesauce.


	2. Chapter 2

The Proposal

Disclaimer: I don't own both Bleach and The Proposal.

xx

Still inside Toushiro's office

After moments of silence, Rangiku finally let everything out, "What the hell just happened?" Rangiku hit Hitsugaya's arm hard, "Are you crazy?"

Toushiro winced and closed the blinds, "Listen, long story short, you and I are getting married, because if not, I'm getting deported. So how 'bout we make a little deal here?" He smiled sweetly in hopes of convincing his employer in question.

"No! No, no, no, no. A million times no. Listen, I hate you, and you hate me, okay? You're a big meanie and you make my life a living hell every day." She said incredulously. "Maybe you're stressed. Yeah... I should, um, call someone for help. I think you're sick or something." Rangiku mumbled the last part while nodding to herself.

Toushiro let out a small bark, "I'm fine, Matsumoto. I just need you to marry me. _Pretend_ marry me. Here's the deal, you and I marry each other and I get my green card visa business done. Don't worry, after the required amount of time, we'll get a divorce and you'll be done with me."

Rangiku gaped at Hitsugaya, "B-but what if the immigration people find out this is all a big lie? It's illegal! I'll be imprisoned! For like, a thousand years!

"They're looking for terrorists, not carpet dealers. And even if they do, you won't get imprisoned for a thousand years. 5 more like. And of course you're marrying me, what am I even saying. If you don't, then I'll fire you. You'll be on the streets alone, looking for another job faster than you can say 'I do.'" He said simply.

"Wh-What?" Rangiku sputtered, outraged. "You can't fire me based on that! That's rubbish!"

"Actually, I can, and I will. I'd say you slack off often and apply polish during work hours. Oh, and you drink too. Don't think I don't know your stash of hidden alcohol, Matsumoto." His mouth twitching suspiciously while doing so.

Rangiku cursed under her breath, "Fine. On one condition."

"What?"

"I get promoted to director. And I get a huge raise." Rangiku smiled contentedly, apparently pleased with her quick wit.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to promote you to director!" Toushiro declared unbelievingly, shaking his head while doing so.

"Fine. Then I quit. I quit, and you're screwed. Goodbye, _boss_." And with that she headed for the door.

Toushiro blinked once. Twice. "Wait! Matsumo-Matsumoto."

Rangiku halted and turned to face the man, "Yeah?"

"….Fine. I'll-I'll make you director." Hitsugaya said after a small pause.

Rangiku smirked and pulled a chair towards her, "Now ask me nicely."

"Ask you nicely what?" Hitsugaya asked dumbly, clearly confused.

"Ask me nicely to marry you." Rangiku said simply.

"What does that mean?"

"You heard me. Get down on your knees." Rangiku said with a funny hitch on her voice. She was clearly enjoying tormenting her boss.

Hitsugaya fidgeted uncomfortably and knelt down, "Wi-will you marry me?"

"Um, no. With more feeling, please. Say it like you mean it." The blonde criticized.

"R-Rangiku?"

"Yes?"

"Swee-sweet Matsumoto Rangiku?" Toushiro swallowed.

Rangiku looked down at Toushiro's kneeling frame and couldn't help but let out a laugh, "I'm listening."

"Would you please marry me?" Hitsugaya looked up at Rangiku, slightly blushing. "Please."

"Sure. I don't appreciate your proposal. I'd like for a diamond ring, but it'll do, I guess." Rangiku reached her hand out and pulled Hitsugaya up, stumbling a little because of his weight.

She tilted her head, "So how are we going to do this? Go to the immigration centre first?"

"Well, ye-"

"That's easy." Rangiku raised an eyebrow and nodded in approval.

"As fiancées. Consider us engaged." Hitsugaya continued.

Rangiku's jaw unhinged, "Wait, what? We're engaged already?"

Toushiro stared at her blankly, "Well, yeah. I thought you knew already." It was his turn to smirk this time.

"I hate my job." Rangiku shook her head and sighed.

Later, immigration centre

"You know? When I said things couldn't get any worse, I didn't mean it as a challenge." She glared angrily at the crowded immigration office, "I hate crowded places. Except the mall, of course."

"Bear with it, Matsumoto. I'll do the speaking from here on, alright? You just sit down and nod to everything. I've got everything taken care of." Toushiro explained when they were waiting for their turn to be interviewed.

"Sure. My darling here takes care of everything, doesn't he?" Rangiku flashed him a sweet smile and patted his arm in a loving, sarcastic way.

An immigration employee soon interrupted Hitsugaya and Rangiku, "Follow me please."

Hitsugaya nudged Rangiku along slowly, "What're you waiting for? Come on."

Rangiku rolled her eyes for the second time that day, "Stop pushing! I'm wearing heels, and this place is practically a hut! Plus, it stinks of cheese too." She crinkled her nose a little, but followed the man intently, pulling Toushiro behind her.

"Hello, I'm sorry about the wait, it's a busy day today." A man's voice boomed when they reached a room at the end of the corridor.

"Hi." Rangiku mumbled back curtly, clearly disliking this man at first sight. Kellinger was a thin and scrawny man with spectacles too big for his face. He had thick, bushy eyebrows making him always seem discontented. Rangiku straightened her blazer, sat herself down at the two blue plastic chairs and patted the seat next to her, motioning for Hitsugaya to sit.

"You must be Mr. Toushiro's."

Hitsugaya shook Kellinger's hand, "Hello to you too. Yes, I'm Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya Toushiro. And this is my fiancée, Matsumoto Rangiku. I can't tell you how much me and Ran-ran here appreciate you seeing us on such short notice." He patted Rangiku's hand and squeezed it lovingly.

Kellinger nodded unenthusiastically, "Sure, sure. So I have one and only one question for the both of you." He looked at Rangiku directly in her eyes, "Are you agreeing to help him by committing fraud to avoid his deportation so he can keep his position as a director?"

Rangiku shifted her body slightly and crossed her arms around her chest defiantly, "That's ridiculous, no." She flounced her hair back and pursed her lips.

Kellinger inhaled sharply, "Let me explain how this process is going to unfold." He paused. "Step one, you'll both be placed in a separate room and be asked questions normal couples should know." He squinted his beady eyes and continued, "Step two, I dig deeper. I check phone records, I talk to friends, families, neighbors, and co-workers. If by any chance your answers don't match up, you…" He pointed at Hitsugaya, "…will be deported immediately."

To Matsumoto he said, "And you, Miss. Rangiku, will have committed a felony punishable by a fine of $300.000 and five years in federal prison."

Rangiku snorted uncharacteristically and whispered, "This better work out." She composed her sweet forced smile for Kellinger, "And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

Hitsugaya cleared his throat loudly and looked at Kellinger who was already busy saying something else, "So, have the both of you told your parents about your sweet love affair?"

Toushiro cleared his throat again, "Well, her parents are... dead. And mine is currently in Alaska."

"I'm sorry for your fiancée's loss." Kellinger replied without sounding sorry at all. "So are you planning to tell them soon?" He inquired again, raising one eyebrow.

"Um, yes actually. Ran-ran and I planning to go to Alaska for the weekend to tell them the good news. My mother lives with my grandma and it's her 85th birthday this Sunday, so the news is definitely going to be a surprise for her." Toushiro replied smoothly.

Rangiku snapped her head up immediately almost to the point where it hurt, "Alaska? Alaska. Alaska! Remind me to bring my faux fur coat!" And with that, she earned a dirty look from Toushiro.

Kellinger looked at Toushiro and Rangiku skeptically, "Right. So uh, I'll see you guys here at 10.00 on Monday morning for the interview then. You can go now." He stamped something on a paper and directed his hands to the exit door without any more talk.

_**To Be Continued..**_

Authors Note: Whew, finally done with this chapter. This took me ages to complete, I don't even know why. I hope I portrayed Kellinger equally as annoying as the immigration person on The Proposal ehehe. Don't forget to review!


	3. Chapter 3

The Proposal

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my computer. Enjoy!

Short Note: Hey guys! So I received a review asking why Hitsugaya was the only person with a Japanese name around. To clear things, I've decided to post this short note. The reason why is becasue they aren't in Japan at the mo. Hitsugaya lives alone in NY. The office is also located in NY, hence the English names.

Another question I got is, _"Are there going to be anymore Bleach characters?" _Unfortunately, no. I actually really wanted to fit in some of them, but I couldn't quite make them fit. You guys will see a familiar name later on the story though (;

xx

Rangiku left immigration as soon as Kellinger was done and waited for Hitsugaya outside, in the streets. "What took you so long?" She demanded as soon as she saw Hitsugaya appear from the front door.

"I, unlike someone, had to stay inside and take care of some papers before I could go." Hitsugaya replied sarcastically.

"Hey, you can't blame me for wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. That Kellinger guy was such a creep! And he kept staring at me like he wanted to crazy murder me or something." Rangiku huffed.

"Please. It was your top. I told you to change into something more decent, yet you didn't want to. You can't blame him for goggling. Everyone was too." He said while walking along the streets.

"What's wrong with my clothes? It's a simple white shirt! Okay, so maybe I might've undone some of the buttons. It's a hot day today! And what do you mean everyone was looking? That's just silly. But hey, does that mean you were looking too?" Rangiku teased, with a wink.

A flustered Hitsugaya then said, "Yeah, you wish. Now come on, we gotta get to the airport soon. I've already contacted my family, and I told them I'd be going there for the weekend, and I have a surprise, so..." He whipped out his BlackBerry and punched in a few buttons, "Aaand done. Our tickets are booked. Okay, so our flight for Alaska leaves in 3 hours, so I'll meet you in the airport soon." Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at Rangiku, "Questions?"

"Can't get rid of me soon enough, can you?"

"Just go home and pack."

They were soon gone.

Later, on the plane

Hitsugaya positioned himself comfortably against the plush seat and proceeded to put on earplugs while Rangiku just kept fidgeting.

"Matsumoto, would you stop fidgeting? I'm trying to sleep here." Hitsugaya said, motioning to the pair of earplugs in his hands.

"It's just these seats are SO comfy! I've never sat first class before! Have you? Psh, of course you gosh! There's a built-in TV too!" Matsumoto said enthusiastically, reaching out for the TV.

Hitsugaya shook his head at Rangiku's excitement and at last pocketed the earplugs, "Alright, alright. I can't possibly sleep now, so let's just go through the possible questions the INS will be asking us on Monday." He pulled out a folder overflowing with papers and shoved them to Rangiku.

"Can't I at least explore the plane first?" She pouted.

"No. And stop pouting your lips." Hitsugaya said without looking up.

"Why? Is it bothering you?" She smirked.

Hitsugaya cheeks turned a light shade of red, "'Course not. Stop being crazy. Now ask me some questions."

"Alright, alright. Now stop frowning. You'll get lines, darling." She paused and looked at Hitsugaya's unimpressed expression. "Oh, alright. Just stop giving me that look."

"Um, question one. What is my favorite color?" Rangiku asked slowly.

"Uh, bl-..yel-, um, pink?" Hitsugaya guessed.

"How'd you know? Oh my God, do you secretly stalk me or something? You do, don't you? How else would you know?" Rangiku gasped, sitting upright, her eyes wide.

"N-no. I just figured you're a girl, and girls... um, like pink." Toushiro mumbled uncomfortably.

Rangiku squinted her eyes. Soon, she asked another one, "Right. So, do I have any pets?"

"No?" Hitsugaya said uncertainly.

"I do. It's a rabbit. It's name, actually, is Shir-" She paused midway after looking at Hitsugaya's expression.

Matsumoto bit her lip from saying anything else, and finally said, "Okay, I think I've had enough. How about we switch? Your turn to ask me questions." She put the folder in Hitsugaya's lap and reached a magazine for herself to read. "Now the good news is, I know everything about you. Bad news is, you have 3 days to learn all about me. So you'd better get learning."

Hitsugaya scoffed and said, "Psh, really? What am I allergic to?"

"Pecan nuts. And of course any type of human interaction." She added sarcastically.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Toushiro chuckled back dryly, clearly not amused. "So, you really know all the answers to these questions about me?"

"Have you forgotten I'm your assistant? I'm _supposed_ to know these things about you. Hit me with another question and you'll see." Rangiku replied, flipping through another page of the glossy magazine.

"Fine. Do I have any siblings? What are their names?" He quipped.

"You don't have any siblings. You're an only child." Rangiku retorted almost immediately.

"How is it that you know so much about me and I know nothing about you?" Hitsugaya asked both amazed and incredulously.

"That's 'cause your too busy eating chil-" Rangiku was just about to finish her snarky remark when a stewardess interrupted them, "Drinks?" The stewardess smiled.

"Champagne, please." Toushiro said, pointing to the glittering bottle on the stewardess trolley thingy. "And what about you, darling?"

"I'll have an oran-, oh wait, I think I'll have a mango bash." Rangiku decided after surveying the variety of juices.

"One serving of mango bash and champagne coming right up." She handed them over shortly after, "Enjoy your flight, Mr. and Mrs. Hitsugaya."

"Oh, we uh, we aren't married." Rangiku blabbed before she could stop the words from coming out. She hastily covered her mouth with her hand, looking mortified at what she just said.

The stewardess – both taken aback and confused said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. It says in the report the couple sitting in row A-5 and A-6 is married." She apologized.

Hitsugaya poked Matsumoto's arm sharply. To the stewardess, he said, "Yet. She means 'We're not married yet'. We are engaged, yes. Not married." Toushiro cleared with a polite smile.

"Oh, of course. Enjoy your flight." The stewardess then hastily left, seemingly unconvinced.

After the stewardess left, Hitsugaya glared at Rangiku. Rangiku glared back, "What?"

"Do you mind explaining to me what just happened?" Hitsugaya asked cooly.

"What? It slipped out before I could stop it, okay?" She said with a defiant shrug.

Toushiro sighed with exaggerated patience, "Forget it."

Rangiku looked up from the airplane floor and at him, "Sorry." She mumbled.

Hitsugaya returned her look and sighed again, "It's fine. I'm just a little stressed out."

"A little? A lot, more like." Matsumoto motioned to the champagne in front of him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, the flight's landing soon, and I haven't even started learning your behavior. How am I supposed to make this thing work? And the interview's on Monday. That's 3 days away."

"First off, don't say behavior. It's like you're a scientist and I'm a pet rat that you're studying or something. Secondly, it's not you making this work. It's us. I agreed to this too, remember?" Rangiku said, after a few moments of silence.

Hitsugaya blinked, taken aback by Rangiku's sudden seriousness. When he regained his composure, he started laughing.

"Hey! Stop laughing!" Rangiku hit his arm with the magazine she was holding. "I just got in touch with my inner self and poured things the way I see it to you, and the best you can do is laugh? Seriously?" Rangiku turned her head away and pretended to be angry.

This seemed to stop Toushiro from his fits of laughter.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just this situation we're stuck in-" He breathed for air, "-is so silly. And you suddenly becoming the wise one most definitely isn't helping at all."

The woman in question faced him indignantly, "Are you saying I'm not wise?"

"Well, I wouldn't say wise. More like, cra-" Toushiro trailed off.

Their bickering was suddenly cut off when the PA system in the plane crackled and boomed.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts, we are beginning our descent into Juneau.'

Rangiku knitted her brows together, "Juneau? I thought we were going to Sitka?"

"We are going to Sitka."

"How are we getting there?"

Moments later, bus

"I hate bus rides! This one in particular. The seats are so small!" Rangiku grumbled.

"Yeah, well, maybe the seats aren't small. Maybe you're just fat."

"How dare you! I am so NOT fat!" Rangiku smacked him across the arms and scoffed.

The bus ride took more or less an hour, in which Rangiku kept grumbling and groaning. If it wasn't about the cooling system, it'd be about the squeezy seats. The bus halted moments later and passengers began to get off.

"Oh God, hallelujah, finally!" Rangiku said as soon as the bus stopped.

She jumped up to her feet instantly and pointed to her luggage in the cabin with a smile, "Darling, could you get that for me, please?"

"You don't need to get into character this soon, you know. You can wait 'till we get down from the bus." He rolled his eyes, "But being the great and sweet fiancée I am, I'll go get your luggage."

"But whoever said I was pretending?" Rangiku asked innocently. To which earned her another eye roll from Toushiro.

They both got off the bus and it soon left with a few false starts.

Rangiku stood in the middle of Sitka's street and said, "I've never been to Sitka, but you know wha-" She whirled around to find Hitsugaya but he was already miles in front of her.

"Yeah, you could at least wait for your fiancée." She muttered.

Rangiku tottered to Hitsugaya, clinged her arms around him, and walked alongside him.

"Oh my God, is that them? Are we supposed to act like we're in love now?" She asked, pointing to a woman whom she thought looked a little like her boss.

"Yeah, act natural please." Toushiro nodded fervently, then stopped walking.

"Hi!" Toushiro's face broke out in a wide smile.

"Oh, come here!" An elderly woman leaned forward and wrapped Hitsugaya around her tightly.

"You're suffocating him!" A brunette said, with a laugh. "Shiro! You've lost some weight!" She added worriedly.

The brunette hugged Toushiro for a long while before releasing him, "Oh, I've missed you so much! But we can catch up later. I just want to see your girl now. The one you keep telling me about since yesterday?" She asked, her face glowing.

Rangiku – who was hiding behind Hitsugaya, got ushered forward by him, "She's… right here! Um, Rangiku, say hello to Okaa-san."

_**To Be Continued..**_

Author's Note: H and M are just too cute to write! I love reading you guys' reviews so much, I updated the next day! I originally wanted to make you guys suffer and wait though muahaha. Alaska adventures are up in the next chapter, so review! c:


	4. Chapter 4

The Proposal

Disclaimer: I don't own both Bleach and The Proposal.

A/N: Feliz Navidad, sweeties! I figured I'd post the next chapter a little earlier, as a small Christmas treat for all you lovelies! c:

xx

Rangiku mustered her best smile, "Hell-hello, Mrs. Hitsugaya." And to the elderly woman, "Pleasure to finally meet you too, Gammy."

The brunette's eye softened, "Oh, you must Rangiku! I'm Yumi. Toushiro's mother." She introduced, leaning forward to hug Rangiku.

"O-oh, uh, it's great to finally meet you too!" Rangiku said, returning her hug warmly albeit it being awkward first. "Shiro's told me so much about you!"

Yumi laughed merrily, "Good things, I hope!" She then motioned everyone to get into a car. "Oh, come on now, don't just stand there. Let's go back! I'm sure everyone at home can't wait to meet Toushiro and Ran!"

Toushiro's residence

"Once again, thank you so much Yumi for letting me be a part of this weekend." Rangiku said before getting out the car.

"Oh, you're welcome! We're thrilled to have you! Come now, the driver will get your baggage. Everyone's waiting in the fort!" Yumi exclaimed excitedly.

"Fort? Shouldn't we be in our hotel by now?" Rangiku poked Hitsugaya urgently.

Before Hitsugaya could even think of a reply, Gammy interrupted, "Oh, we cancelled your reservations, family doesn't stay at hotels! And you're practically family now!" Gammy said, overhearing the couple's conversation. "Now, come on!"

The door swung open and about fifty or so people began shouting in unison, "Welcome home, Toushiro!"

Hitsugaya cocked his head to face his mother, "Okaa-san, what is this?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a small welcome party. All your friends and families are so excited to meet you!"

Hitsugaya dragged Rangiku to a corner, "Rangiku, I'll have to leave you to go socialize with my family. My mother is insisting. Is that okay?" He asked with a sigh.

"Sure it's okay! Go! I'll be, uh, around here getting to know your friends too." Rangiku assured, running a hand down her peplum top to get rid of imaginary creases. "So when are you going to tell them?"

Toushiro stared blankly at her, "Tell them what? That we're engaged?"

Rangiku nodded several times.

"Later. I'll find the right time, okay? Now go socialize. And try not to get lost." Hitsugaya pushed Rangiku into a group of talking ladies and disappeared almost instantly.

"Sorry! I lost my, erm, footing just now. I'm Rangiku." She said shakily, extending her hand out.

"Oh, no worries! Are you the friend Toushiro brought over? I heard from Yumi he'd be bringing over a friend from New York to Sitka." A lady with braided hair returned her handshake.

"Yeah, I suppose that's me. Girlfriend." She added with a light chuckle. "So, are you ladies relatives of Toushiro?" Rangiku asked politely.

Another lady wearing plaid smiled teasingly, "Toushiro sure got some game left inside of him if he managed to snag someone as pretty as you, eh? I always made him up as the 'all work and no play' kind of guy." She punched Rangiku in her arm playfully. "Yeah. We're cousins." She pointed to the braided girl and said, "This is Yuki, my sister. And I'm Tsubasa."

Rangiku laughed out loud at Tsubasa's previous statement, "You have no idea. Anyways, enough about me. I totally love your dress! Where'd you buy it?"

"This old thing? I forgot. Bought it at Sitka Central, I think." Tsubasa said, glancing down at her dress, before placing a finger on her chin.

Rangiku talked for a bit and after a while, tired, she lounged near the refreshments table. She reached for the punch and was just about to help herself to some punch when a hand rested on her shoulders.

She looked up, "Hey you. I'm totally thirsty, I've been talking for an hour full. You want a drink?"

Toushiro shook his head. "Listen, people need to start to think we're in love, so I figured now's the right time to drop the bomb. Ready?" He asked in hushed tones.

Rangiku shrugged, "Whatever. Sure, I guess. I can totally be the doting fiancée." She crumpled her paper cup and tossed it to the trash bin.

Toushiro placed his hand in Rangiku's and led her to the living room where people were gathered, "Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, I have an important announcement to make."

All eyes in the room swiveled to him and he cleared his throat a couple times, "So I think most of you already know my girlfriend here, right?" He rested his arms around her waist, "Her name's Rangiku, and we, uh, we're getting married!" He clinked the glass he was holding a couple times for good measure.

Everyone stared at both Hitsugaya and Rangiku blankly for a while before cheers erupted. Congratulations could be heard everywhere.

"Someone bring out the champagne!" The local technician hooted.

"So how did he propose?" Gammy asked Rangiku from her seat, excitement laced in her tone.

"Yeah, yeah, tell us how he proposed!" Yumi joined in.

"Yeah! We'd love to hear the story! You can know a lot about a man by hearing how he proposes." A man winked.

Toushiro finished the last sips of champagne and at last said, "Well, actually, Ran-ran loves telling this story." He swallowed. "So uh, I'm just gonna go ahead and let her tell this time." He hastily sat down on a recliner, leaving Rangiku flustered and panicked.

"I... I do, actually." She agreed after shooting a glare at her so called fiancée. "So, um, let's see, where to begin this story?"

"Well, uh, Shiro invited me out to a restaurant for our first anniversary and um, I just knew somehow, he was going to propose. So I didn't go." Rangiku paused for emphasis. "You see, I wanted to torture him a little. He couldn't win me that easily, right?" She conjured with a nervous chuckle.

"Whoo! My homegirll!" Tsubasa hooted.

"Yeah." Rangiku laughed awkwardly. "So then I phoned him, and told him I was sick. He immediately thought I was seeing another man, because I skipped the last date we had too." She licked her lips and glanced around the room for ideas.

"Then, uh, he, um, just broke down entirely on the phone. He cried, and begged me to not break up with him. And then he gave me an address and told me that if I wanted to break up with him, he wanted to have a… last dinner with me." Rangiku made up, silently hoping the story wasn't too bad.

Hitsugaya rose up from the recliner suddenly, "Ac-actually, that's not what happened." He walked up next to Rangiku and chuckled deeply, "Ah, my darling here always gets this part wrong."

"So actually, I _pretended_ to cry and beg her. Just another trick up my sleeve, you know." Toushiro said, looking around. "Then I, uh, waited for her to get there."

"So yeah. Anyways, the address he gave me turned out to be a… garage. A broken down one. And he decorated it with fairy lights, and carton hearts, and all sorts of pink… pink trinkets with photos of us both." Rangiku cut in. "And when I opened the door, and saw him, he was knee-"

"Standing." Hitsugaya said with a glare.

"_Kneeling_ down on one knee and proposed to me with tears in his eyes. Like a fragile, tiny, tiny, bird." She trailed away softly. "Yeah. And then he said, Matsumoto Rangiku, the woman of my dreams, will you marry me?"

"Yep. Then she said yes. The end." Toushiro clasped his hands. "So who wants champagne?"

No one paid any attention to Hitsugaya's champagne offer.

"That was so beautiful." Yumi breathed. "Oh, you got me all teary eyed!"

"Yeah. That's my sweet, sweet, Toushiro." She gazed deeply into Toushiro's eyes and smiled in triumph.

Hitsugaya gazed back and pulled her close, "Paper hearts? Me, crying? Seriously?"

Rangiku smirked and whispered back, "That's payback for leaving me alone, and making me tell that story."

"Let's see a kiss from the sweet couple!" Gammy cheered all of a sudden.

And pretty soon, everyone was clapping and demanding the couple lock lips much Rangiku and Toushiro's horror.

Oh yes, they weren't getting out of this anytime soon.

_**To Be Continued..**_

Author's Note: Ah! No regrets leaving you guys with a cliffy muahaha.


	5. Chapter 5

The Proposal

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

A/N: Hello! So I've received a few reviews saying that my name format was wrong. Matsumoto's first name is actually Rangiku and Hitsugaya's actually Toushiro. My first thought was, "Whoa, damn. I got their names wrong?" Yeah, I myself couldn't believe I messed up on their names. It's kind of embarrassing and idiotic tbh. Oh well. Right, so corrections'll start in this chapter forward, I'll correct the previous ones if I have time. I apologize once again, and thanks to the peeps that told me about my error! Sorry if I offended anyone of Japanese culture. I suck at honorifics and even naming in general.

xx

Rangiku could feel her face prickling from embarrassment, "Uh, I'm sure that wouldn't be necessary." She looked around desperately only to be met with expectant glances and impatient foot tapping.

"Okay, here we go! Let's just get this over with." Toushiro mumbled the last part to Rangiku.

Toushiro could feel his palms wet with sweat as he kissed Rangiku on her left cheek quickly. It was soft and light, almost too light. Making it look barely even close to being convincing. "There!" Toushiro declared proudly to the audience.

"Seriously?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow.

Toushiro shrugged defiantly and crossed his arms.

"Nonsense! What was that! Kiss her on the mouth like you mean it!" Gammy insisted.

Rangiku held her hands out and crossed one hand on her hip, and muttered, "I told you so."

"Kiss her! Come on, Shiro!" Gammy cheered.

"Gammy! Stop calling me that!" This time, Toushiro was the one who looked around helplessly. "Oh, alright. Come on Rangiku; let's just get this over with. A real fast one."

"Fine. Okay." She exhaled. "I can do this." She licked her lips tentatively.

Toushiro leaned forward, and just as their gazes met, he bent over a little to meet Rangiku's lips, eyes not once leaving hers. His lips met hers, first soft and slow, and then as if something snapped, the kiss suddenly became one of hunger and passion. It was as though each couldn't get enough of the other. One of his hands was at the back of her neck, and the other was loosely holding her waist. Rangiku broke the kiss abruptly, and she jerked back as though she was electrocuted. He pulled back seconds later, an apparent flush on his face.

Rangiku felt her face heat up, and muttered incoherently. "Yeah, so uh… that's that." She whipped her head to Yumi and Gammy who were watching with practically hearts as their pupils. "Can you kindly show us our bedrooms? I'm pretty worn out."

Yumi rose to her feet, helped Gammy up, and led the way, "Of course, darling." After walking door after door, they finally arrived at their destination. "So. Tada!" Yumi pushed opened a wooden door. "Your bedroom!"

Matsumoto scanned the room slowly. It was an oriental styled bedroom with wooden furniture. Except for the bed. That was an exception. It was a metal framed, minimalistic bed and it was covered with beige duvet sheets and had a swirly patterned headrest. The room was also equipped with a walk-in closet. Rangiku stepped cautiously inside the room and headed for the massive drooping curtain. She swung it away and there was an indoor balcony behind it.

"Oh! This room is... beautiful. It's magnificent, Yumi. The view is just breathtaking, and the bed is... Oh, thank you so much." Rangiku breathed, hugging Yumi once again.

She saw Gammy pouting sullenly at her from the corner of her eye, and she laughed softly, "You too, Gammy, you too." She gave Gammy's arm a tiny squeeze.

A nagging thought came into Rangiku's brain, "So, where does Toushiro sleep in?"

"Oh! W-We weren't under the impression you aren't sleeping in the same bed, so he'll sleep here with you." Yumi stated simply.

"Oh, oh! Gr-"

Toushiro butted in, "Yeah. That's great, Okaa-san. 'Cause we love to snuggle, don't we, sweetie?"

Rangiku couldn't quite make out if he was being sarcastic or serious, "Of course, swe- Oh my God! What is that that thing?" Rangiku yelped and pointed at a reptile in a small aquarium at the far side of the room.

"Oh, that's Momo. She's a chameleon. Just make sure you don't let her escape. She tends to escape and hide in... unexpected places." She nodded affectionately. "There's towels and spare linens and things in this wardrobe if you need any." Yumi pointed to a dark wooden wardrobe.

"Oh, use this at night!" Gammy said suddenly. She handed over a pinkish quilt and pushed it towards Rangiku. "It has special powers!"

"Oh, uh, what-what kind of special powers?" Rangiku inquired politely.

"I call it the Baby Maker." Gammy replied with a mischievous wink.

"Okay, well then, I guess we... we're gonna be super careful with that one." Rangiku said, hastily throwing the so called Baby Maker away.

"Right, it's been quite an evening! We'll leave you both lovebirds for now! Get some rest, and we'll see you tomorrow morning!" Yumi and Gammy bid farewell, and left.

After the door clicked shut, Rangiku took her baggage and unpacked, "Don't look, okay?" She said to Toushiro who was pacing the room.

"Wha-okay." Toushiro blurted hastily as soon as he understood what Rangiku was doing.

"Are your eyes closed?"

"Completely."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Toushiro said with exasperation.

"I'm done."

Toushiro opened one eye at first, and when he was sure it was danger free, he opened both, "Those are the pajamas you decided to bring to Alaska?" He asked, not quite believing what Rangiku was wearing. It was pink and lacey and looked like it just came out a Victoria Secret catalogue.

"Well, yeah. I was supposed to be in a hotel alone, remember?" She said grudgingly, and then looked up with a glint in her eyes. "But this isn't pajamas, Shiro. This is a short satin chemise." Rangiku said seductively.

Toushiro blushed furiously, "Can we just go to sleep already?"

"Tsk-tsk Shiro, so impatient to get into bed, huh?" Rangiku teased again.

Toushiro cleared his throat loudly and blushed even redder if that was possible, "R-right. So uh, I'm sleeping on the mattress and you on the bed, right?"

Rangiku flopped herself on the bed, "Aw, you're such a gentleman, Hitsugaya Toushiro. Ah, this bed is so comfortable! Sure you don't want to join, Shiro?" She asked with a wink.

"Stop calling me that." Toushiro muttered just loud enough for Rangiku to hear. "And get some sleep, Rangiku. We have a long day ahead of us." Toushiro said before retreating into the bathroom.

Rangiku dozed into dreamland soon after.

_**To Be Continued..**_


	6. Chapter 6

The Proposal

Disclaimer: Bleach and The Proposal belongs to their rightful owners. I'm just playing around with the characters and plot.

A/N: First and foremost, I'd like to present a huge thank you to my reviewers who are **all** so supportive. _Especially_ to those who corrected me on my name mistake thingy previously, and to those who reviewed more than once, i.e 'sagitgirlth', 'theflyinglion', and 'misfitthemiserable'. I appreciate it - I really, really do! Secondly, I'd like to wish all of you a very happy new year! Here's to wishing 2012 kicks ass!

xx

Rangiku shifted her body and buried her head deeper into the down pillow, trying to get the warm rays of light away from her face. She let out a little groan when she realized her shifting not only made one of the pillows fall to the ground, the angle she was in also made the light shine directly to her eyes, blinding them. Ngh, _must be the sun._Rangiku groaned to herself. She thumped her arms randomly to the bedside table on the right side of the bed, grabbed the alarm clock, and brought it to her face. Rangiku could barely make out the numbers from her bleary eyes. She rubbed it once. Twice. Finally, she saw the 4 digits in front of her, 11.00.

_Shit, I'm late for work._Rangiku jumped out of bed in panic, and was just about to change into her work attire, when her surroundings caught her eye. Oh, _right. I'm in Sitka._ Rangiku furrowed her brows. She then peered cautiously below the bed, and saw a mattress neatly folded on the parquet floor, next to the Baby Maker. She stared at the two things for a while, trudged herself out of bed, and then went into the bathroom for a bath.

Morning, dining room

"Morning." Rangiku smiled as soon as she saw Yumi and Gammy talking animatedly on the couch. "Hey, have you guys seen Tou.."

Gammy returned her smile, "Morning, dear. He's in the garden."

"You want breakfast, Rangiku? I cooked eggs and bacon. There's still some in the table if you do." Yumi waved her hand vaguely to the grand mahogany table. "You should grab a bite first. We have a whole day planned for you!"

"Oh, that's great! So what are we doing?" Rangiku asked as she helped herself to a plate of bacon and eggs.

"That, my dear, is a surprise. But you should hurry. You still have to get ready." Yumi said gently.

"Yeamph. Thas souns funh! And these," She lifted the plate of food, "are elichious, Yumi." Rangiku said in between bites. "I'm just gonna go and talk to Shiro for a bit, alright?"

"Of course, sweetie." Yumi dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

Garden

"Hey, what are you do- Oh my God! What is Momo doing over here?" Rangiku said with a little jump, causing some of the scrambled eggs to fall messily onto the grass.

"Hey. I see you're up." Hitsugaya stood himself up from his squatting position and stretched. "I'm playing with her. She's actually pretty... cute. Like you, in a way."

"Oh my God, you are _so_ weird." Rangiku dismissed as she scooped the last remaining bits of bacon into her mouth. "Anyways, I just came by to talk to you before I leave. I'm going out later."

"Out where?" Toushiro asked raising an eyebrow.

"Your mum made plans for me and the girls later. Although I'm not quite sure who 'girls' refer to." Rangiku furrowed her brows together, thinking.

"Great, I'm sure you'll enjoy Sitka." Toushiro said after a while, poking Momo on her scaly back after he said those words.

"Ugh, that's disgusting. You better put her back in her aquarium when you're done." Rangiku crossed her arms, and scrunched her nose for the second time this morning.

"Nah, I think I'm going to put Momo in your bed later." Toushiro said with a playful glint in his eyes.

"Don't you dare, Hitsugaya Toushiro." Rangiku said as she backed up hastily against a small bush – trying to get as far away from Toushiro and the scaly pet as she could.

Toushiro scooped Momo gracefully in his arms and was just about to pretend throw Momo in Rangiku's direction when from the corner of his eyes, he saw his mother and Gammy looking suspiciously from the big glass windows.

"Rangiku!" Toushiro hissed.

"What?" The woman hissed back.

"Give me a hug, Rangiku."

"What? I'm not touching you." Rangiku said with a frown. "Are you drunk or something?"

"What? No! I just don't want mum and Gammy to think we're fighting or something. In case you didn't notice, they've been shooting worried glances to us for quite a long time already." Hitsugaya explained with a jerk of his thumb toward the where the two women were standing.

"Now come 'ere."

"No. I don't want to touch you. No, I..." Rangiku said reluctantly.

Toushiro captured Rangiku in his arms and whispered huskily in her ears, "Is it seriously that bad to hug me?"

"N-no, I just don't want you to touch me after handling th-that slimy creature." Rangiku mumbled back with a deep pink blush across her cheeks. "Mph, lemme go now."

"There. Such a good fiancée." He tousled Rangiku's hair and patted her back, ushering her away, "You should go get ready by the way. I think you're late already."

"R-right. See you." Rangiku said, still flustered by the previous encounter. The last thing she saw before she turned away was Toushiro kneeling down on both knees, playing with Momo again, with what seemed like a small smile plastered on his face.

Rangiku rubbed her eyes and soon left. She must have been mistaken, she concluded at last.

Moments later, alleyway

Rangiku stepped out of the car clad in a simple white tank and skinny jeans. Following behind her was Yumi and Gammy, both dressed in flowery dresses – which Rangiku made a mental note to buy before leaving Sitka.

"Here we are! I hope you're ready for your big surprise! Gammy announced excitedly, hands opened in a 'tada' fashion to a dingy metal door.

"Yeah, I hope you're ready too, because this is one of Sitka's greatest treasures!" Yumi added after dismissing the driver. "Oh, Rangiku, you're gonna love it!"

Yumi and Gammy both pushed the metal door, which opened with a loud squeak. Yumi motioned for Rangiku to follow her inside, "Come on, Rangiku, everyone is inside already!"

As soon as the door swung open, Rangiku saw several tables and chairs laid around the room. At least that's what she saw first anyways. The room was dimly lit and she had to squint. Also, the air was thick with the smell of cigarettes and overhead, the sound system was blaring rock music really loudly.

"W-wow. You guys bought me to a uh-club." Rangiku said aloud, somewhat confused. She stepped in carefully and glanced around the place and noticed there were actually a lot of people inside. "This place is crazy packed!" She shouted to Yumi and Gammy, trying to overpower the music. She whirled around and saw both women were apparently already sitting comfortably in a front line circular sofa already filled with people too.

Gammy motioned for Rangiku to sit next to her. The latter then hurriedly walked swiftly, dodging chairs and tables, and sat herself down just in time as the lights suddenly dimmed to blackness and brightly colored pink and blue neon lights flashed to a stage in front of the group.

"Ramone's our only exotic dancer here in Sitka, but we're lucky to have him!" Gammy leaned over and shouted with glee to Rangiku.

Rangiku was just about to ask who Ramone was when she was interrupted by a spotlight shining brightly to a man dressed only in a tight black leotard suit. Cheers and claps exploded and erupted throughout the club as though on cue.

Rangiku's jaw dropped opened.

_**To be Continued..**_

A/N: I couldn't think of a name to substitute Ramone, so I just used the movie's given name. All credits to them, alright? Anyways, my break's ending in awhile and school's starting in like, 3 more days. I'm apologizing in advance if I can't update as quick! Reviews make me happy c:


	7. Chapter 7

The Proposal

Disclaimer: The Proposal and Bleach belong to their rightful owner. I'm just playing around with the plot and characters.

xx

Rangiku's eyes instantly turned into saucers as soon as Ramone began dancing in what Rangiku thought was supposed to be sexy. Or maybe the people here in Alaska are turned on by these gyrating movements. Go figure. Rangiku raised a hand and half-shielded her eyes from Ramone who was busy grabbing a rope and swinging back and front the stage, whooping in exhilaration. Rangiku inclined her head, turned to Gammy and asked helplessly, "What is this guy doing?"

Gammy ignored Rangiku's question and instead began jumping excitedly in her chair yelling, "Work it, Ramone!"

Rangiku stared at Gammy, not believing her ears, and then returned her eyes to the stage again. She stared at the so called Ramone and noticed he had thick black hair and a not-so-handsome face. His body was also slightly overweight. Although, she thought people should probably give the guy credit for still having the courage to become a male stripper. Her thought were viciously interrupted when Yumi rang out loudly,

"Over here, Ramone! Over hereeeeeeee!"

Ramone who was in the middle of tying himself up abruptly stopped what he was doing and walked, or more like strutted, to Rangiku's table. Meanwhile, Yumi, Gammy, and the rest of the girls were busying themselves pushing a very reluctant Rangiku up the stage.

"S-stop pushing me! Oh, no. No, no, n-" Rangiku yelped when she finally realized what her gang as doing.

Ramone waggled his eyebrows suggestively once Rangiku was up and ripped his leotard suit with a flourish, leaving him stark naked except for his matching brief covering his under section. He then strutted back and forth again and wiggled his body to the music much to a certain someone's horror. The crowd of course, went wild and a woman in the far end actually started climbing up to the table, moving her hips to the music.

Rangiku's first thought, which she immediately put into action, was to get down and run away from the stripper. The blonde was halted by Ramone, who pulled her hand and twirled her around, causing Rangiku to lose her footing and land most inelegantly in Ramone's arms. Rangiku then pushed Ramone as hard as she could away from her and stumbled back, her heels tumbling clumsily against the wooden stage.

"Feisty one, aren't you?" Ramone asked teasingly after regaining composure.

Rangiku sighed exasperatedly and mumbled under her breath, "You never stop, do you?"

Out of the blue, Ramone pulled out a chair from behind one of the stage curtains and knelt down, backside facing upwards.

Rangiku gaped outwardly, her eyes round and unbelieving. She couldn't believe whatever Ramone was doing. The spotlight than swiveled back and landed on her brightly.

"Come on, spank him!" Gammy coached excitedly from the audience.

"Oh God. I don't wanna touch it. I don't wan… I'll just, ah…" Rangiku trailed off helplessly with a clear look of discomfort written clearly on her pretty face.

"Oh, my God. Look at her face!" Yumi said, stifling a laugh. "Go on, Rangiku, spank him!" She added before laughing again.

Ramone took out a green bottle of God-knows-what and began lathering himself with the substance, "Coconut oil. You like it? Oh yeah, you do. Touch Ramone now, babe!" He said with a thick accent, waggling his eyebrows again. "This is all for you." He said as he ran his hand sensually on his now slimy body.

Ramone finished by pouring the contents of the bottle all over his upper body, moving like a tiger around the three legged chair, while staring straight ahead at Rangiku's face, probably wondering why Rangiku was acting so weird around him. It wasn't because of the fact Rangiku hadn't seen a male stripper before. It was merely because Rangiku was flabbergasted as to why Ramone was such a hit with the ladies. Also, because Ramone was currently moving his butt sensually in front of her torso area, which was kind of creeping her out.

Rangiku forced a smile, then held out her hand and patted Ramone's behind hesitantly, much to Ramone's joy. Once she done the deed, the club fell silent for a short while, then cheers and wolf-whistles erupted.

"Right, then. Mm. I'm just going to... get down now." Rangiku nodded fervently. She straightened her top and cleared her throat importantly before walking quickly down the stage, and headed towards her table. She then grabbed her half-empty cocktail and gulped the rest of the liquid. After that, she excused herself for some fresh air.

Club backdoor

"Hey, there you are." Tapped a petite redhead.

"Oh! Um, hi. You're uh…" Rangiku racked her brain and was just about to yell out the other woman's name triumphantly when she lost it. "Sorry. I didn't get your name last time." She said referring to the welcoming party just yesterday.

The redhead nodded and smiled, "No biggie. My name's Sara, without an H. I followed you outside, actually. Thought you could do with a friend."

"Thanks." Rangiku said gratefully. "I'm fine. Just working on my, ah, tan." Rangiku continued, motioning to the mercilessly shining sun overhead.

Sara chuckled before talking again. "Yeah, I believe you. But I for one know Toushiro's family can get a _little_ overwhelming sometimes. Just a little." Sara said, as she stopped next to Rangiku. Both women were hanging around a railing which separated them from a sparkling lake across the club.

Rangiku hummed in agreement and leaned her body on the railing.

"It's a little different here than in New York, huh?"

"A little bit." Rangiku admitted and stared at the dancing water. "You ever been?"

"No. That was always Toushiro's dream. To leave Sitka and live in the city." Sara replied.

"So, um, what are you and Shiro, exactly?" Rangiku asked, her curiosity finally getting the best of her.

"That obvious we had history, huh? I'm his ex. We dated in high school and all through college, but… things didn't work out obviously." Sara sighed, running her manicured hand through her auburn tresses.

"And you guys called it off because?" Rangiku asked again. "Sorry for being so blunt."

Sara waved her hand dismissively and shared her story, "Well, the night before we graduated, he proposed to me. Said we should elope and that he wanted to go to New York with me. Start a life there together."

"And I take it you said 'no'?" Rangiku asked rather dazedly. She never knew. How could she, after all.

"Yes, of course I turned him down. You must understand I've never been to anywhere but here. This is home. I wasn't ready." Sara said with a rueful smile. "But you're a lucky girl, Rangiku. Toushiro really is the best, which you must already know." She finished with a light laugh.

"Mm, very much so. Yeah." Rangiku bit her lip and returned staring at the lake.

Sara and Rangiku turned their heads sharply when the club's back door opened and a waitress emerged to take a smoke probably.

"Come on, let's go back. Looks like Ramone's wrapping up. He's actually pretty cool, you know." Sara added with a grin, with Rangiku pretending to puke and make gagging noises. The two women then laughed and walked back inside with linked arms.

Later, Toushiro residence

"I'm so, so tired, but thank you guys again for um, such a great surprise." Rangiku smiled to Gammy, as she trudged up the spiral staircase to her room. "I'm just going to go upstairs, and take a shower. Ramone's coconut body oil is still on me."

Gammy laughed out loud at Rangiku's last comment, "Sure. And you're welcome, Rangiku."

Upstairs, Rangiku & Toushiro's room

Rangiku stepped into the hot bath and let out a contented sigh. She rested her head comfortably on the headrest and closed her eyes. Her nose was inhaling the healing herbal candles' scent. Life it seemed, was good down here in Sitka.

"Ah. Where's the towel? Towel, towel, towel." Rangiku mumbled under her breath as she stepped out of the hot bath, practically a walking lavender plant.

Rangiku fumbled with a cabinet handle, but sighed when nothing but a couple of used soap bottles tumbled out. Rangiku hastily threw them back and closed the cabinet door shut.

She went back to her hunting soon after. _Towel, towel, towel, towel, towel._

Rangiku crammed her hand into a promising looking shelf and felt her hand came in contact with a silky thing. She pulled her hand out triumphantly and looked at the fabric in her hand proudly. Rangiku's smile then turned into a frown.

_This is all they have for a towel? This is ridiculous. I can't get dry with this._She thought as she looked indignantly at what was supposed to be a hand towel back in New York. After a staring competition at the towel, Rangiku decided to twirl the towel in her hair. She then continued her search for a towel again, but to no avail.

Rangiku poked her head out the bathroom door, "Hello?" She asked loudly.

To which nothing greeted back.

Rangiku glanced around nervously and was just about to make a run for the wardrobe outside; when she caught sight of something moving on the ground. Something green and scaly.

Rangiku let out a little yelp and jumped away from Momo, clutching the door tightly.

"No, no, no, no. Just… let me go get a towel, okay? I need to go get a towel." Rangiku said to Momo, silently shooing her away.

Momo didn't budge, but instead looked up with a blank look at Rangiku.

"I need to just... Hold on." Rangiku eyed a wayward water-shooting shower and spritzed some water at Momo.

"How'd you like that, huh?" She asked with a cooing voice. Momo held her tiny head up, eager for more water. She scampered slowly towards the water direction and Rangiku expertly lured her into the bathroom. Rangiku stopped spritzing and slammed the door shut. Rangiku ran quickly into the room and was just about to turn towards the wardrobe to get her prize, when she was bumped to a side viciously with none other than Hitsugaya Toushiro.

Her hair towel flew to the floor almost comically.

_**To be Continued..**_

A/N: This part was hilarious in the movie haha! School's not that demanding yet at the mo, so I'm really trying to produce some chapters before it does. Right.


	8. Chapter 8

The Proposal

Disclaimer: The Proposal and Bleach's character, setting, plot, and everything else belong to their rightful owners. I'm just playing around.

xx

Rangiku lost her balancing and attacked the floor. She turned her head to the side confusingly, and gasped outrageously and unbelievingly when she saw Toushiro, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God!"

Toushiro rubbed his side where he hit something, or someone, and he turned his face to his left to find the culprit. Wrong move. Very wrong one indeed.

In turning his face, Hitsugaya not only found the source, he also got a full-blown view of a very naked Rangiku. Toushiro's face instantly flamed up, "God! Wh-what, w-why are you naked?" He managed, horrified, before turning his head away again.

"Oh, my God!" Rangiku repeated, her face burning with shame. Both her hands desperately searching the floor for any item of clothing.

"W-why are you wet? Y-you're showing everything! Cover up, for the love of God!" Hitsugaya blurted frantically.

"Oh, God! Don't look at me!" Rangiku's right hand did its best to cover up Hitsugaya's eyes and push his face further away.

"I don't understand! Why are you wet?" Hitsugaya asked again, still shell-shocked. He closed his eyes shut as tight as he could behind Rangiku's palm.

Rangiku was too busy raking and searching the room for something to wear to answer Hitsugaya's question. She scrambled to her feet and spotted a sort of large fabric in the bed and since it was closest, she grabbed it quickly, and wrapped it hastily around her body.

"Oh, God! Not the Baby Maker!" Rangiku exclaimed desperately when she glanced down the quilted fabric. She unwrapped herself again, and flung the Baby Maker away.

"Oh, my God!" The blonde panicked, running around the room in circles. Thankfully, she saw her cream trench coat she wore to the airport the day before sitting neatly on a chair. She grabbed it and tied it tightly at the sash.

"You can open your eyes now." Rangiku mumbling in embarrassment, prodding a still-very-red-and-blind Hitsugaya with her foot.

Toushiro hesitated for a few minutes and at last opened them slowly. He inhaled deeply and then exploded, "Explain yourself, please, Matsumoto Rangiku!"

"Explain myself? Why did you knock me when I got out of the bathroom anyways?" Rangiku asked indignantly, crossing her arms.

"I-I didn't... I-I… I was listening to-, I mean, I was in the balcony just now!" A very flushed and flustered Toushiro said, tripping over his words.

"Really? You didn't hear me?" Rangiku asked hotly, although it came out more like a statement rather than a question.

"I- psh! I was listening to these!" Toushiro held up his earphones and mp3 player defensively. "You're crazy, you know? Suddenly deciding to jump me like that all of a sudden!"

Rangiku huffed and crossed her arms defiantly, "What? No! I didn't even mean to jump you! Your beloved pet was..." Rangiku paused for a bit, waving her hands around thinking of a suitable word. "…attacking me! And naturally, I had to run. And I ran into you!" She waved her hands about for emphasis.

"What is it with you and Momo? Seriously!" Toushiro muttered, shaking his head.

"Just, you know... go. Go! Take a shower or something. You stink!"

Toushiro rolled his eyes and walked towards the bathroom door. He spotted Momo behind the door and pointed, "See? See the viciousness on this thing? I'm so scared! Barely made it out of there with my life." He said sarcastically. "Oh, and Rangiku? Nice tattoo by the way."

"Ugh! Just... go." Rangiku exclaimed, burning red all over again.

That night, bed

"Hey. You asleep?" Rangiku asked uncertainly from the 4 posted bed above. She couldn't sleep and wanted to know if Toushiro, who was quiet on his mattress under her bed, was asleep or not.

"Nope."

"I like the clown show that airs every Friday." Rangiku said all of a sudden.

"What?"

"Yeah. Not in the 'Haha, this is so silly' kind of way. I actually quite enjoy it." Pause. "I took violin lessons in sixth grade." Pause. "I think Ryan Reynolds is cute." Pause. "I don't like flowers in my house 'cause they remind me of funerals." Pause. "First concert I ever went too was Celine Dion's." Pause. "I cry like a baby every time I watch 'Titanic.' Pause. "I never played a video game before." Pause. "I hate the coffee in our office. They taste like puke."

Toushiro blinked a few times and then asked, "And um, the bird tattoo?"

"They're swallows. I got them when I was 16, after my parents died." She bit her lip. "And I'm sure there are other things too, but they're all I can come up with for now. At least you know some stuff about me now, right?"

"My dad got into a car crash when I was 16. I was really close to him. He was my idol, and I really looked up to him. He was very busy with his work, of course. Rarely had time to spend with his family, but I knew he loved us dearly. And then he died so suddenly. I… my world was turned upside down. When me and Okaa-san first received the news, I fell into depression. I just… something inside me snapped, I guess. Okaa-san did too, but I think what held her together was that she knew she needed to be strong for me and Gammy. Soon then I recovered and decided to strive for only the best and devoted my life to work. I guess in a way, I wanted to be my father."

"I had no idea. I'm so sorry." Rangiku whispered softly. "But you know... at least you became a someone. You're a successful executive director." Rangiku gave a harsh laugh. "Me? I just spiraled down after my parents died. It's like, I don't even have the will to live anymore. I spent my days partying, drinking, and you know... doing stuff." She paused. "I must be such a disappointment to them." She continued with a rueful tone, her eyes watering up slightly.

"Rang-" Toushiro argued.

"But you know what, Shiro? I'm sure your dad will be very proud of you if he could see you now." She furiously blinked away the threatening tears and interrupted Hitsugaya before he could go any further.

Silence. Toushiro just laid in his mattress, staring in silence at the ceiling. He didn't even complain when Rangiku called him Shiro. He guessed, in a way, he didn't care if the one calling him that was Rangiku.

"You still there?"

"I'm here. Just... processing." Toushiro said after a while. "So Celine Dion, huh?" He switched to a lighter topic.

"Uh-huh." Rangiku hugged her bolster tighter. "I love 'My Heart Will Go On'."

"How does that song go again?"

"You know..." The blonde trailed away, fidgeting against the duvet sheets.

"Rangiku?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you are a very, very beautiful woman. You can also be really hardworking when you want to, so... no need to be so harsh on yourself." Toushiro commented carefully.

"You're here, there's noth- ugh." Rangiku sang softly, but soon winced as her voice broke in the middle of the high note. "God, I can't sing that high. I'll have an aneurysm."

She and Toushiro laughed themselves to sleep soon after.

Following morning, bed

**Knock, knock, knock.**

"Ngh… what?" Rangiku groaned, her voice all croaky and rusty. She curled up against the duvet and drifted off to sleep again.

**Knock, knock, knock.**Came the knocking, more persistent this time.

"What is it?" Rangiku groaned louder.

"Room service! Breakfast for the happy couple!" Chirped out the voice from behind the door.

Rangiku bolted and sat upright immediately and hissed, "Toushiro! Toushiro!"

Toushiro, who was still very much asleep, just sighed in answer and turned his body away.

"Toushiro! Wake up! Your mother's at the door!" Rangiku hissed with much more urgency, whipping a pillow at the poor man below.

"Huh?!" Toushiro demanded, now fully awake and rubbing his eyes roughly.

"Get up here! Get up here now! Your mum's at the door!" She hissed again, jerking her thumb towards the door.

"Just a second!" Rangiku provided loudly to the door.

Toushiro as though just hearing the constant rapping on the door frantically scrambled to his feet, clumsily made his way up to the bed, and hid the mattress he slept in under the bed.

"Okay, okay. So what do we do now?" Toushiro asked calmly as he positioned himself as comfortable as he could next to Rangiku.

"Um, just... spoon me. Spoon me!"

"Right, right." Toushiro agreed, draping an arm around Rangiku's frame. "Ahem. Come on in!"

Rangiku's arm, which was squished in an awkward position then decided to just pat Toushiro's head, since both their hands and arms were somehow tangled together.

Yumi then walked inside the room with a radiant smile on her face. On her hands was a table of food.

"Ooh, smells nice. But Yumi, you shouldn't have went through all that trouble." Rangiku managed with a worried expression.

"Okaa-san's cinnamon rolls are fantastic." Toushiro whispered from beside her.

"Eh, it was no trouble at all. Anyways, you're family now!" Yumi replied with a wave of her hand.

Gammy then walked into the room shortly after, dressed in a blue sweater and a matching long skirt.

Yumi turned back and forth to Gammy and to Rangiku and Toushiro with a smile, "Gammy and I have come up with a proposition, and I happen to think it's a terrific idea." She paused and cleared her throat. "I'd like to go through it with the both of you now, actually, if you guys don't mind."

Rangiku raised an eyebrow inquisitively and nodded slowly, "No probs, Gammy. Fire away."

Gammy who was quiet all the while, suddenly couldn't contain her excitement any longer, "I want you guys to get married tomorrow! On my birthday!"

_**To be Continued..**_

A/N: Sorry for the long update, it's been what? A month plus? So in my defense, I've been super busy and caught up with, you guessed it, school. I have like, a ton of tests and homework. They seriously drain all of my energy and put me off writing. But your reviews help make it worth it ehehe.


	9. Chapter 9

The Proposal

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Bleach and The Proposal belong to their rightful owners.

xx

Rangiku dropped her cinnamon roll as if it burned her skin, and gaped outwardly at both ladies. Toushiro responded first, "Wh-what? What?"

"Well, you guys are getting married soon anyways, might as well be married here, where we'll all be together with friends and family! In that way, your Gammy will also be a part of it." Yumi reasoned with excitement.

"N-no. That'll uh, be rude. Stealing Gammy's spotlight when it's her birthday and all..." Rangiku gave a weak retort after collecting herself. "It's her big day."

"Nonsense! I already had 89 birthdays. I don't need another one." Gammy protested. "And it would be a dream come true to see my only grandchild's marriage!" Gammy chuckled, very much elated. "We can have a big party, and invite _all_ our friends and family!"

Rangiku and Toushiro both shook their heads vigorously, "N-no. I ah, w-we still don't think that's a good idea." Toushiro motioned at Rangiku and himself. Rangiku nodded emphatically beside him for support.

"Do it before I'm dead?" Gammy asked sweetly, her voice sounding anything but. She'd even had a suspicious glint in her eyes.

"Okay, okay, okay." Rangiku nodded hastily, silently thinking Gammy really could be scary if she wanted to be.

"Perfect! We'll take care of everything. And you guys can get married like me and Toushiro's dad did, in the barn." Yumi piqued happily. Her mind already busy thinking about the selection of flowers and cakes. "It's a tradition in our family." She informed with a final nod.

"Oh, oh. Wow, fun. Yes, I've always wanted to get married in a… a barn." Rangiku inhaled sharply. "All brown, homey, and... everything!"

Gammy excitedly moved towards the bed and clasped her hands around Rangiku's. "It's a sign! A sign from the universe that you and Toushiro are meant to be together. We must give thanks, I tell you." The older woman said to Rangiku solemnly.

Rangiku, who didn't really understand what Gammy meant, frowned briefly, but shrugged nonchalantly at last.

"Alright, I know we should leave you guys now, but I'm just so excited!" Yumi squealed and opened her arms to give both Rangiku and Toushiro a hug.

"Oof. Yeah, Okaa-san. Just- you can go now." Toushiro got off the bed, nudged Yumi, and ushered both women out the door.

Once Toushiro closed and locked the door, Rangiku flung the heavy duvet sheets away and pulled Toushiro's sleeve urgently. "Oh, my God. Once your mother finds out this whole wedding is a scam, she'll be devastated. And gammy w-will… she'll die!" Rangiku bawled and paced across the room restlessly.

"I- my mother won't find out." Hitsugaya assured a distressed Rangiku rather unconvincingly. "She won't, I promise." He added, hoping the statement would calm Rangiku down.

"But what if, Shiro!" Rangiku objected hopelessly, raking both hands through her tousled hair.

"Listen, listen." Toushiro said slowly but surely, as he pulled Rangiku's hands away from her hair and put them to her side firmly. He then turned the blonde to face him. "They won't find out, okay? Just relax. And it's not like we're going to be married forever. We'll be happily divorced before you know it." He added as he pulled the smaller frame closer for a brief hug. For a reason he couldn't quite out his finger on, Toushiro felt a pang of sadness when the last sentence left his lips.

"Right, right." Rangiku assured herself. She convinced herself to stay composed and collected. "Everything'll be fine."

Toushiro looked worriedly at Rangiku, "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so." Rangiku nodded and mumbled in reply.

"I'll go grab us some lattes, okay? It'll calm your nerves."

"Okay. And you're right, you know? We'll go back to our lives in no time. You'll-you'll get your visa, I'll get my promotion, and… It's all going to turn out just fine. A quick divorce and then everything will be taken care of. " Rangiku managed a tiny hint of a smile.

And then there it was again, that weird and queasy feeling in his gut Toushiro felt just now.

"But this missus needs to learn how to cook, so she can keep her husband happy." Toushiro teased, promptly cheering Rangiku up.

"Mm. I sure as hell don't want him leaving me for another woman, right?" Rangiku asked playfully, playing along to Toushiro's attempt.

"Come on, I'm not going to do that, Rangiku. Besides, I haven't left you yet, right?" Toushiro said, voice suddenly turning all too serious.

Rangiku stared at Toushiro, mesmerized. Why did that change in his tone made her insides feel funny? And how did her boss get all sparkly all of a sudden?

Instead of feeling uncomfortable from Rangiku's stare, he found himself staring deeply back at Rangiku''s blur orbs. Realizing she'd stared too long, and the air surrounding them suddenly felt too warm, Rangiku cleared her throat loudly and turned her back to Toushiro. "Um, right. I'm just uh, just gonna go make myself presentable." She was about to start walking when a thought came to her, "Oh, and you know what, Shiro? I think I'm going out later, so no need getting me that latte anymore."

"Where?" Toushiro asked with a look of surprise in his features.

"I don't know. I just feel like going outside." Rangiku replied with a shrug.

Toushiro looked at Rangiku momentarily, and after a pause, he said. "Right. See you then."

"Right. See you."

An hour later, woods nearby

Rangiku trudged up the rocky and woody path carefully, all the while mumbling to herself, "Focus. You just have to focus, Rangiku. Everything's gonna be fine. No one's finding out anything… OOF!"

The busty woman tripped over a wayward rock and fell down, scraping her knee. She glanced down to examine the damage done and cursed under her breath. A pinkish gash had formed in her knee and red liquid was already threatening to flow down. Rangiku tissued the scar hastily and then continued on her way.

Rangiku stopped once she reached a clear landing, and breathed in and out the air. Although she greatly disliked doing anything dirty, she really needed the fresh air to clear her mind. Rangiku brushed aside a few big leaves standing in her way and then something caught her interest. Rangiku peeked from behind one of the leaves and saw a woman dressed in some sort of tunic like clothing, walking around a fire in circles doing some sort of ritual, seemingly.

"The hell?" She asked herself curiously. She squinted and when her eyes focused, she found the woman was actually Gammy. She was about to step forward and peek closer when her foot stepped on a weak branch, causing it to crack with a loud sound. Whoops.

Gammy who apparently heard the sound stopped her ritual, turned her head sharply toward the source and said in a deep voice, "Matsumoto Rangiku. You've came. Come to me." She motioned her hand for Rangiku to join her.

Rangiku stood at the spot unable to move, half-surprised and half-awed at the sight before her. At last, she opened her mouth, "Uh, actually, I think I'll just uh, watch from here."

Gammy whipped her oversized tunic and bellowed, "JOIN ME!"

Rangiku jumped in shock and then walked to Gammy obediently. "Y-yes?" She squeaked, once she was face to face with Gammy.

Gammy smiled condescendingly, "Just follow what I do." She flung a spare red tunic to Rangiku's head and began chanting again. All the while, her arms flinging wildly around her. 'Ayiyaeo. Samsukapi. Ahyapi'

Rangiku looked at Gammy's state bewilderedly and hurried to join her before she got all spiritual and scary again, 'Um, a-ayioeo. Api, kapapi.' Rangiku flung her tanned arms around, trying to mimic Gammy, all the while thinking this could be on YouTube and have maybe about a trillion views.

After four complete circles or so, Gammy stopped and bellowed out again. "Enough! We are done here. We have given thanks to the woods, to the air, and to the ground. Now, let's go. We will come back some time soon."

"Go? Go where?" Rangiku asked, her eyes wide.

Gammy just kept quiet and turned to depart, leaving a very much confused Rangiku with no choice but to follow.

_**To be Continued..**_

A/N: Wow, so I feel I need to tell you guys this story's wrapping up in say, about 2 more chapters. 3 max. I won't say my thanks and goodbyes just yet, but it'll come soon, so just be prepared, yeah?


	10. Chapter 10

The Proposal

A/N: Uh, hi? So I know it has been far too long since I last updated, and that you lot have all the right in the world to be mad at me and just ditch this story, but I really wish you guys wouldn't (obviously). All I ask is for you guys to please, please, please be patient with me and this story. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Like, at all. Bleach and The Proposal belong to their rightful owners. Everything from the setting, plot, and characters do too.

xx

Rangiku and gammy finally arrived at their destination a short while later, albeit the way back felt much, much longer than that. They had to hike and trek up a small hill before they reached civilization and popped through a secret shortcut by a big oak tree. They came out at an opening between Sitka's line of stores. Gammy then lead a now leafy and thorny Rangiku to the far end of the crossroad and pushed opened the door to a practically ancient looking store.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Rangiku asked precariously. Rangiku, after all is a woman of manners.

She circled around the store and due to her advanced sleuthing skills, found that the store was called 'Fine Line Tailors'. She may or may not have just read through the wooden signboard hanging pathetically above the entrance door. Walking further inside, she found everything was made of parquet and the small store room deep behind was filled with racks and racks of clothing. The air in there smelled like age old dust and the only source of light was flickering non-stop.

Rangiku headed back and turned to look for Gammy. She frowned when she couldn't spot Gammy instantly, which she should be able to, as she and Gammy were the only ones in the store.

"Gammy?"

No answer.

"Gammy?" Rangiku rang out much louder this time.

"Oof! Yeaph, I'm in hereph." Came the muffled reply from the other end of the store.

Rangiku followed the voice tentatively, all the while waving her hand in front of her face to clear the space from dangling cobwebs. She soon found gammy hidden behind a looming cabinet overflowing with clothes. "Gammy! What on earth are you doing back here?"

Gammy heed no attention to Rangiku and instead continued fumbling in a cardboard box below a counter.

"Rrright. Let's fumble around other people's stuff after we just took a hike in Mount Everest, why don't we? Gammy, I think we should just leave." Rangiku sighed. "I don't even know what we're doing here and the owner might come back here any minute. It most definitely wouldn't look good if we were caught here, fumbling with his or her things. Plus, I'm dying for a bath."

"So restless! So many questions! Silly girl, this is our store! It's a family store. It belongs to the Hitsugaya family." Gammy was still bent over at her waist, still searching for God knows what.

Rangiku stared gob-smacked at Gammy. Then she gave her eyes a good look around the store. It was small, yes. But still, something about the place called out to her. Rangiku was so deep into her thoughts she didn't realize she'd been staring at the store for a long time. "There it is!"

Rangiku broke out of her wandering system and jerked her head back to Gammy. "What's that?"

Rangiku's eyes widened in surprise as she gasped in shock at what greeted her. In Gammy's frail hand clutched an elaborate gown. Said gown was an ombre mixture of beige and coral, with an upper section of tight corset, with a silk bodice. The hems were flowing with vintage lace and even has a matching collar to go with it. Rangiku reached out to trail her fingers over the gown gingerly.

"Beauty, ain't it? My mother made this dress by hand. It was made in this very shop in 1930. It's funny how things come back in style, isn't it?" Gammy finally said. She looked wistful for a brief moment, but soon recovered. She thrusted the overflowing gown towards Rangiku. "Here, take this. The fitting room's right over there, next to the sewing machine thing."

Rangiku held on to the gown awkwardly and was about to protest when Gammy began fussing and pushing her towards the fitting room.

Alas, Rangiku kept her protests to herself and stripped down to change all for the sake of humoring Gammy. Rangiku emerged from the fitting room a few minutes later, simply radiant in the gown. Her blonde hair flowed by her side and further complimented the gown. She, herself, however was not so certain about the chest part. She gave a small twirl and posed for Gammy.

"Oh! It looks perfect on you!" Gammy gushed when she set eyes on the younger woman. Gammy's small frame was almost buzzing in excitement. She looked at Rangiku's anxious face and continued, "Don't worry about the fit, sweetie. Yumi's the best tailor in Sitka." Gammy altered and measured the fabric and stuck some pins in, all the while. "And I was a bit chesty when I wore this."

Rangiku smiled, both at her reflection and at Gammy's remark in spite her situation. "What's this for though? And really, you're being too kind. I look like a walking mulberry bush! And I just... It's really too much, Gammy. All this." Rangiku motioned at the gown for emphasis.

"Oh hush, sweetie. Nonsense! Now, let's make this beyond perfection." Gammy tottered off and came back with an illuminating pearl necklace. She was just about to step back to clasp it on Rangiku's neck when, "Gammy. Seriously, it's too much. It's too beautiful and I don't think-"

Gammy gave Rangiku a sharp look. "I wasn't finished."

Rangiku in turn, just gave her an exasperated look. She sure as hell wasn't going to start defying an old woman.

Gammy cleared her throat and continued her story, "This has been in my family for more than 150 years. My great-grandfather gave it to my great-grandmother when they got married. They were quite a scandal, you know. He was Russian and she was Tlingit, and back then you had to get approval from every member of the tribe before you got married. Almost broke them up. She was tough though. Like you, deep down. Wouldn't take no for an answer…" The older woman then leaned down and smoothed the invisible knots on the gown. "I want you to have it."

"I... I can't." Rangiku finally said, with an adamant shake of her head.

"I don't want to hear it. Grandmothers love giving things to their grandchildren. It makes us think we'll be in their lives until we're gone. It's yours, honey." Gammy pushed lovingly.

Rangiku stilled on the spot and out of nowhere, big fat tears welled up in her eyes. She hastily brushed a few away.

"I- Are you alright, sweetie?" Gammy asked tentatively, clearly sensing the mood change.

"I... Well, I just... I just wanted to make sure if there was enough time to get all this sewing done." Rangiku managed in between soft sobs. She lifted the gown and put it down again heavily.

"Don't you worry about that. You'll be shining when we're done." Gammy confirmed. "Now let's get you out of these pins alright?"

"Okay." Rangiku could only nod.

An hour later, docks

After one freaky and another sentimental encounter with Gammy, Rangiku and Gammy finally went home in silence, dress in tow. The blonde didn't felt like talking much. At all, really. Once home, Gammy immediately began talking and discussing about dress designs for the wedding with Yumi. Rangiku herself, hurried out of the house. She felt claustrophobic simply being inside the house. Which was no sane reason, seeing as the house was practically a mansion. Still, she felt she needed to get away from everyone. To get some air.

Rangiku all but ran to a nearby dock where overhead, a group of seagulls sang their anthem, loud and clear. Rangiku took a deep breath of sea air to calm her nerves. Just then, she spotted a white speedboat, with Toushiro's back facing her. She rushed down the wooden stairs, untied the rope and hopped in quickly. After that combo, Rangiku stepped on the gas pedal hard.

Toushiro, who was lounging at the speedboat's couch-chair just a few moments ago, jumped up, startled. "Whoa... Mind telling me what's wrong?"

"I just... I needed to get away from everyone." Rangiku answered, jerking right suddenly, avoiding another boat heading back home.

"Why? What's wrong?" Toushiro repeated with more force. He wasn't backing down, apparently.

"Nothing! Just..Just stop talking, please." Rangiku said desperately, hands tight around the wheel. She didn't even care about the splashes of water imprinting her jeans. She was sure she was going to be arrested at the rate she's going, but she didn't even care about even that. She just knew she needed to get as far away as possible. Rangiku stepped harder and the boat zoomed away into the open water.

After a while, Toushiro tried again. "Mind telling me now, Rangiku?"

Silence.

"Rangiku," Toushiro glared at the woman beside him. The latter's eyes was still aimed at the front, not about to get distracted from target anytime soon.

"Rangiku!" Toushiro shouted at last, shaking Rangiku's shoulder roughly.

The woman flinched visibly, "I forgot, okay? I forgot what it feels like to have a family! I've been on my own since I was 16, and I forgot what it felt like to have people love you, and make you breakfast, and say, "Hey! We'd love to come down for the holidays." And I'd say, "Well, why don't we come up and see you instead?" And give you necklaces! And you have all that here, and you have Sara! And I'm just screwing everything up! Everything!" She gulped when she finished, desperate for air.

Toushiro raked a hand through his hair, clearly perplexed. "You didn't screw up anything, okay? I agreed to this, remember? I was there!"

"Your family loves you!" Rangiku spat at the man incredulously. "Do you know that?"

"Of course, I do!"

"And you're willing to put them through all this?"

"They're not going to find out!"

"Yeah, but what if they do? Oh, God. If Yumi finds out… If Gammy finds out... Oh God!" Rangiku mumbled incoherently to herself, walking away from the wheel and burying her head in both her hands on the tail end of the boat.

"The boat's still moving!" Toushiro yelled incredulously above the roaring engine.

He hastily took control of the boat and began chastising Rangiku for her careless action. Not that this was the first time she did something so crazy, though.

"What is wrong with you?" Toushiro demanded angrily, hands still poised on the wheel.

To which Rangiku just shook her head a few times, "Oh my God. Gammy's gonna have a heart attack."

"She won't find out! Now hold on!" Toushiro ordered, as he turned sharply around a lone buoy.

After they were in clear water again, he slowed the speedboat to a comprehensible speed and said, "Now, I don't think that hijacking a boat is a proper way to express your frustration, Rangiku." Toushiro continued before reaching down to pull the brakes. "Oh, great. Now you decide to shut up!"

"Rangi…" Toushiro repeated, this time turning his head to his right in concern. No doubt he was beyond baffled to see he was all alone on the speedboat.

_**To be Continued..**_

A/N: How'd you guys like this chapter? It's one without Toushiro in it for a majority of the first part eheh. Thanks for the patience once again!


	11. Chapter 11

The Proposal

A/N: Wow, cue tumbleweed.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Like, at all. Bleach and The Proposal belong to their rightful owners. Everything from the setting, plot, and characters do too.

xx

"Rangiku?" Toushiro yelled, paying no heed to the screeching waves. "Rangiku!"

Waiting for the boat to reach a full stop, he squinted his eyes and frantically began searching for any signs of life within the rough water. His eyesight swiveled back and forth around the buoy where he last saw her and until then did he see a wisp of blonde hair just going with the flow of the current.

"Rangiku!"

"Shir… Toushiro!" Rangiku gasped out desperately, flinging her arms wildly against the water. "I… I can't swim!"

Toushiro yelled her name one last time before U-turning the boat back to the buoy to rescue the woman. "The buoy!"

"What?" Choked out Rangiku. She could feel the water dragging her down and her arms getting tired just by staying afloat.

"To the buoy!" Shouted Toushiro, battling against the roar of the motor and the waves.

That being said, Rangiku frantically trashed her arms around willing them to bring her to the buoy bobbing up and down the sea.

She breathed in deeply before another session of mindless pedaling but instead took in a huge gulp of water. That was when the silent attack happened. Her eyes and ears burned, her throat threatened to constrict and her lungs pressured for oxygen. Her head was throbbing painfully and she couldn't concentrate in the least. She could feel her arms getting heavier and heavier. Letting go seems _that_ much more easier, and that light at the bottom simply looks _so_ inviting. Rangiku was in the middle of contemplating whether to let go and just let the water take her when…

"Rangiku! Your hand! Give me your hand!"

She peered blearily at the seemingly angel in front of her and frowned. Why is the angel waving his hand in front of her? And why is the angel yelling? That was definitely not stereotypical, no?

"Give me your hand!"

This time, the words carried more meaning and her system was able to comprehend what they meant. Hands. Her hands. They were needed.

"Hey! Give me your hand! Rangiku! Give me..."

Rangiku shook away all thoughts, mustered up all the strength left inside of her and with one hand clutched tightly against the boat's tail, she linked fingers with Toushiro's stretched hand.

"Come on, come on. I got you. I got you."

With the last of the power inside of her, she pulled herself up along with Toushiro's pull. She let herself be carried to safety by him and clung helplessly to him as if he was her lifeline. And she supposed in a way, he was.

With her teeth chattering terribly, she curled in a corner of the boat and shivered. Toushiro hastily flung of his quilt jacket and wrapped it tightly around Rangiku.

"God, what the hell were you thinking?! Could've gotten yourself killed!" Toushiro demanded with anger and worry crossing his features.

"Y-you were the one w-who turned the boat and made me f-fall in."

"You let go of the steering wheel!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Rangiku's tear ducts as though just realizing what she had just been through began leaking down silent tears. With each sob raking her body, she mumbled another apology.

"All right, come here. You've got to get warm. Come on." Toushiro scooted and put his arms around her firmly, keeping her close, and not letting go anytime soon.

"Come on. It's OK. That's OK. It's over now…"

Back in Toushiro's house

With Rangiku slightly limping and constantly clutching Toushiro's arm for support, leading the pair to finally make it back to the safe warmth of home in an unusually intimate way. They were, though, immediately greeted by bad news from Yumi.

"Shiro!" Yumi called, evidently distressed. "A Kellinger guy was just on the phone with me. He demanded to talk to the both of you. Said he wanted to check up on both of you? He also told me that you guys were lying to us and also that he's got proof and he'd drop by tomorrow to send you to prison." Yumi launched, sniffling.

Toushiro tightened his grip on a worn out Rangiku and clenched his jaw. "What else did he say, Okaa-san?"

Yumi balled the piece of tissue in her fist and continued, "He offered me a deal. He said you're to make a statement admitting that the marriage is a sham or you're going to prison."

"And what did you say?"

"I told him not to be ridiculous. What's going on, Shiro? Who is this Kellinger man? Are you in trouble, honey?" Yumi asked. She didn't even bother masking her sadness now.

"Don't worry, Okaa-san. He's just an asshole who doesn't want to see this marriage happen. Next time he calls when I'm away, give him his statement for me. Matsumoto Rangiku has worked for me for the past two years. Six months ago we started dating, we fell in love. I asked her to marry me, and she said 'yes'. Tell him I'll see him at the wedding."

And on that note, Toushiro lead Rangiku away to rest.

That night

"Rangiku, you're going to need to come with me." Gammy informed as she poked her head through the slightly ajar bedroom door. "Now, tomorrow is your wedding day…"

To which Rangiku just tilted her head and hummed to.

"And that means you guys aren't sleeping in the same room tonight. Don't ask, tradition." Smiled Gammy, tugging along Rangiku to lead her to the guest room perhaps.

"And Shiro? You have to give the Baby Maker a rest tonight. Again, tradition." Gammy nodded wisely and proceeded to fold the Baby Maker in half, putting it away in a nearby cabinet. "Give your bride a kiss good night, now."

Soon after the sentence left Gammy's mouth, he indignantly retorted. "We're not gonna use the Baby Maker anyways. And Rangi-"

But the man didn't even get to finish his speech when Gammy cut him off crossly. "I don't want to hear any more of it. You've got your whole lives to be together. I'm taking her just this one night."

Toushiro sighed and mumbled out his disagreement.

"Now, come on. Come on."

Rangiku offered him a light smile and said, "If I don't go with her, she's just gonna..."

"Come right back. Yeah, I know." Finished the man sourly. He most definitely didn't want to leave Rangiku alone. Especially after what happened just this afternoon. Well, at least that was what he told himself anyways. What other sane reason was there, after all.

"Yeah, so…"

"See you in the morning?"

"Yeah." Rangiku concluded before leaving Toushiro alone with his thoughts with a click of the door.

Bedrooms corridor

"Hey, Gammy?" Thanks. For everything, you know."

Gammy looked at Rangiku and her features softened. "Here's your room, get some sleep. It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

Needless to say, the couple most definitely did not get any sleep that night.

_**To be Continued..**_

A/N: So. We'd be reaching the end of this story real soon, maybe one or two more chapters left. Funny thing, I actually never wanted to continue this story anymore but then I saw TP few days back and I was like, damn don't I have a ff I left hanging, ok gotta go finish it now. So there you have it c:


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